In this episode, I’m joined by Nick Forster, founder ofDerive, a decentralized crypto options exchange. We discuss his journey in launching Derive and his vision for the platform.

We also exchange thoughts on the uniqueness of this market cycle, the impact of Coinbase’s acquisition of Deribit, U.S. regulations, Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, traders’ sentiment aboutBitcoin’s price on Derive, and more.

Nick Forster founded Derive about 5 years ago. Before that, he worked as an equity options trader at Susquehanna International Group. He studied mathematics and economics at St. Paul’s College, University of Sydney.

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00:00 Opening Remarks
00:38 Nick’s Background and Introduction
02:04 Introduction to Derive and How It Differs from Deribit
04:34 Initial Challenges and Hurdles in Launching Derive
06:32 Where Nick Found Tech Talent and Funding
09:08 Competition
10:17 Coinbase’s Acquisition of Deribit and Its Implications
11:20 DEX vs. CEX and Derive’s Target Users
13:57 Tremendous Growth Potential for DEXs
17:15 Addressing Technical Limitations Like Execution Speed
18:43 Ethereum Layer 2 vs. Layer 1
19:41 The Role of AI in DEXs
21:44 U.S. Regulations and their Impact
25:59 U.S. Market vs. Other Markets
27:45 Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
28:38 Where Bitcoin’s Price Is Headed This Cycle
29:45 Is This Cycle Different from Previous Ones?

Building On-chain Options Exchange with Nick Forster